Interesting Instances of an Invalid
by Miller0259
Summary: Unfortunately for Cain, he seems to get injured a lot around a certain Princess. Fortunately for a certain Princess, she is good at taking care of him…whether he wants her to or not. C/DG
1. Shot in the Shoulder

Title: Interesting Instances of an Invalid  
Characters: DG/Cain, Mentions of everyone else  
Timeline: Post eclipse  
Genre: Comedy/UST (Unsatisfied Sexual Tension) lol  
Rating: R for language, violence, and…well…you know, given the genre ;)  
Disclaimer: I don't own Tin Man  
Summary: Unfortunately for Cain, he seems to get injured a lot around a certain Princess. Fortunately for a certain Princess, she is good at taking care of him…whether he wants her to or not.

A/N: I appear to be suffering from Writer's Road Block (Different, from generic Writer's Block). It's where one has a million story ideas and actual time to write them, but they are in no way related to the story that everyone else is waiting on. Sorry about that.

Chapter 1 – Shot in the Shoulder

The first time DG took care of an injury of his was just after the Eclipse.

After her family and her friends had been reunited, everyone set about their next respective order of business.

Azkadellia and her Mother and Father went to show and explain to everyone that it was over. Glitch and Raw went to follow. Cain was anxious to join them and see what happened to Jeb, but he was delayed by DG.

"What happened to your arm?"

She was motioning to his bloody sleeve. Her friends hesitated by the door and Glitch finally answered her.

"It's just a flesh wound…" he said cheerfully. Then continued after a pause, "It's just a flesh wound…"

"Oh, ok!" DG said quickly, sounding informed, hoping to cut him off before he began again.

Cain nodded to Raw, "Raw patched me up for the most part. It's nothing, really…"

Raw smiled timidly.

"Raw not heal completely…"

DG looked at him upset, about to interrogate the poor viewer but Cain cut in to explain.

"I told him to save his strength for people who really need it."

She seemed to deflate for the most part, but her eyes still wandered to the now drying blood on his coat.

"How high can you lift it?"

He hesitated.

"I'm fine…"

She looked to Glitch and Raw, fighting to roll her eyes.

"We'll catch up with you guys," she told them.

They soon left and Cain found himself being helped out of his coat.

Her soft breath was whispering across the back of his neck and her fingers ghosted along his collar as she guided it off of his shoulders. He hissed as his arm twisted in just the wrong way as he moved as he normally would to shirk his coat off.

DG winced behind him, "Sorry…sorry…I got it, you don't have to move."

Raw may have stopped the bleeding, but his muscles still hurt like a son of a –

"There…" DG murmured, setting the coat aside. She looked at the blood on his shirt and on the outside of his shoulder through the hole in the fabric and then searched the room for something. "Hang on…"

She shrugged off her own coat and then took off across the room to a glass of water sitting on the table. She brought it, and after a double take at a curtain, ripped it down and dragged it over to him. She glanced at his face briefly.

"Is it tender?"

He considered her for a moment. He was pretty sure the look on his face was similar to one he would make if she had asked him if he found her attractive.

He was _not_ about to admit it, but…well.

He made a non-committal noise.

"May I?" she motioned to his arm with probing fingers. He gave her a half nod.

She lifted his arm in different ways until he winced, and squeezed here and there. When she was done examining him she looked to the curtain. She tore a few strips off of the bottom and used them to clean his skin and around the holes in his shirt. It had been a through and through, to the outside of his bones thankfully, and so she cleaned first the back and then the front.

As she went about her methodical work, her gaze focused solely on his arm, he found his own gaze wandering. It went from her busy hands, to her slender wrists and to her thin arms, up to her narrow shoulders and finally to her concerned face.

Her mouth was -

She must have felt the weight of his stare because she looked back at him suddenly. His eyes met hers briefly before he averted his gaze and looked back to his torn shirt. Looking back to her, as if it was just a coincidence their eyes had met earlier, he could only blink at her and hope the tense moment would pass.

She finally tore her gaze from him and exhaled shakily, turning away to start tearing more fabric for a sling. He could almost see the blood rush up her neck to her cheeks.

Whoops…

She turned back and slung the fabric around his neck and under his injured arm, studiously avoiding his gaze. She measured how long the strip needed to be and quickly looped her arm over his head, taking the fabric off so she could tear it. She turned back to him he ducked down slightly so she could drape the fabric over him again.

He dared to look at her face in the few scarce inches between them, but she was studiously tying a knot in the fabric, her blush getting deeper by the second. She helped adjust his arm and went to readjust where the knot lied, only to find his other hand there, shifting it slightly.

Both of their hands hesitated for a moment as they brushed against one another, before hers took over, and helped move the sling more easily than he could. She helped him put his coat back on, good arm first, draping the other side over his arm in the sling.

He was about to thank her when her arms went to either side of his neck and he faltered. He felt his collar being tugged into the right position and being adjusted around the knot of the sling. Her hands absentmindedly rubbed down his lapels as she let her hands fall to her sides.

She sighed tiredly. "There you go…"

He swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Thanks," he murmured.

She shrugged on her coat and only looked at him when she finally realized her hands had nothing else to do. She studied him, her wide eyed stare not betraying her thoughts for once.

He really hoped she didn't make a big deal out of him being thankful…it's not like he actually needed help, he just needed to see Jeb was okay, and then he…

"Let's go find Jeb…" she finally replies.

… then he…

He stared at her, dumbfounded.

…Huh…

CDGCDGCDGCDGCDGCDGCDGCDGCDG

A/N: XOXOXO from the self-proclaimed Alliteration Queen. Surprisingly enough I didn't plan the chapter names. They just sort of happened. The Story name though…*points to crown* lol


	2. Blown Through the Branches

A/N: Queen Isabella pointed out that the U in UST should be Unresolved. Fail, me. :( But she also pointed out that Unsatisfied works for Cain/DG too, lol. Soooooo :P

Also, apologies this one is so short. But considering I have two more written at the moment that are twice this long…you'll get over it eventually…

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The second time she took care of him, it was after being blown back from a booby-trapped cave.

He had been launched through the branches of the three closest trees.

He had the wind knocked out of him, but was only covered with bruises for the most part with a few scratches here and there. His shirt had been ripped in a few places as well. Raw wasn't with them on this outing, and so while the rest of the troop traveling with DG surveyed the damage done in the cave, DG surveyed the damage on him.

Her brow was furrowed and she was frowning as she dabbed his scratches with a clean damp cloth.

And Cain was trying to watch her subtly this time.

"Is it bad?" he asked her dryly.

Her scowl deepened.

"No."

"Then why are you lookin' so serious?"

"Because you should have waited!" her answer came sharply, as well as her next dab on a particularly unpleasant cut above his eye.

He hissed slightly as it stung, and tilted his forehead away from her, a scowl appearing on his face as well.

"If it hadn't been me, it would have been someone else…"

"Then let it be someone else!" she said loudly.

As her voice rang through the clearing, a wave of discomfort blanketed them both.

She probably didn't mean to…yep, she was blushing again. And so was he, if he wasn't mistaken.

Less obvious, of course, but still.

She checked herself with a furtive glance around them before continuing quietly.

"I'm about to start carrying around my own First Aid Kit for you…"

He sighed through his nose in response.

She tossed the rag to the side and pick up something he couldn't see. She fumbled with it behind him while he silently fumed about being treated like a child.

Suddenly he saw a flash of something out of the corner of his eye and he glanced back in alarm.

"What are you…I don't need _stitches_!" he yelped, pulling his arm away from her needle and thread and moving to stand.

She sat back on her heels from where she had been kneeling behind him, looking unimpressed.

"There's no way I'm letting you take a needle to me." He started to pace. "No way. I -" He trailed off as DG's mouth went from downturned to upturned, and was now fighting the urge to let her smile overcome her face. "What?" he asked, almost annoyed. This wasn't funny. This was-

"Are…" she checked her enthusiasm. "Cain, are you…afraid of needles?" She whispered the last part.

He looked at her, stricken, before turning away and sitting down again. He was not going to answer that. Not ever.

He heard her cover up a giggle.

"Cain," she said gently. "I only plan on stitching one thing on you."

He turned his head barely, so he could see her out of the corner of his eye. She flicked a finger at his shirt and was surprised to feel her reveal a much larger hole than he had noticed before.

"And that's your _shirt_."

He looked from her, to his shirt, and back. Then facing forward, he made the most intelligent response he could muster at that time.

"Oh…"

She waited for him, but he made no further response.

"Is that okay?" she asked patiently.

He merely hung his head, and shifted his arm back so it was easier for her to work on. Soon he felt her tugging on the fabric of his shirt and the steady rhythm of her sewing it back together.

Despite her silence now, he knew he would never hear the end of this.

And he could just _tell_ she was smiling the whole damn time.

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A/N: Overwhelmed sounds like a good word. I am overwhelmed and blown away by the response I've gotten from my last few stories, including this one. I'm swimming in author and story alerts and I love it. Thank you. So Much. It means the world. Really… You guys rock.

Also: I'm with Cain on this one, lol – needles are NO BUENO


	3. Thorns in the Thigh

A/N: This one is dedicated to Rissy James. She knows why 3 lol

So since I left out details on exactly why Cain was at a booby trapped cave last time…you get more background THIS time on why Cain is pants-less…I mean hurt… O.o

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The third time DG took care of him was…slightly uncomfortable.

The four of them were out horseback riding when they decided to stop next to a ravine and give their horses a rest.

Cain's horse, Max, had been giving him trouble all day. Max wanted nothing to do with his directions, and whenever Cain relaxed in the slightest, was almost bucked off. When Cain finally dismounted, Max stepped sideways, forcing the Tin man to step quickly out of the way. Cain grabbed the reins, pulling Max's head around to look him in the eye.

"Cut it out!" he said angrily, pointing a finger at him. When he turned away to look at the rest of the group, Max body checked him again, this time into the ravine.

As he barrel rolled down the steep decline he heard DG yell his name and caught glimpses of his three friends at the top of the hill. He tried to slow himself but could only succeed in steering himself towards some bushes to stop his fall.

Too bad they were thorny bushes.

He crashed into them with a few sickening cracks of branches, pain lancing into his right leg as some of them bit through his pants and deep into his thigh. His long coat had wrapped around his middle and unfortunately offered him no protection for his legs.

This one…is going to leave a mark.

Glitch came sliding down the bank after him, looking almost graceful. When he slid to a stop next to Cain, he looked him over with concern.

"You alright?" he asked quickly. Thankfully there was not a hint of a smile on his face. Cain shifted to look up at him, squinting.

"I'm in one piece aren't I?

At that, Glitch grinned.

"Come on, Tin Man, let's get you untangled."

They proceeded to pull some of the thorny branches from Cain's clothing. Thankfully the worst of it was on his lower half and not near his face. They began the slow trek up the hill, Cain limping the best he could considering thorns hindered his every move.

When they finally reached the top, Raw helped him over to a flat spot, the soothing effects of Raw's touch already working. He absentmindedly looked around for DG and noticed her standing with her face inches from Max's. He stopped moving, and Glitch and Raw looked up to see what had drawn his attention.

They couldn't tell if she was saying anything to the horse, or just giving him the stare-down of his life.

When she finally moved, she made her way over to the trio and then turned back to Max with her arms crossed and eyebrows raised. Max's head sank low and he stepped over to where Cain's hat lay near the edge of the ravine. He picked it up with his teeth and brought it over to Cain.

Cain stared at him in disbelief.

Max raised the hat to Cain's chest and looked at him with the saddest and most regretful stare he had ever seen come from an animal.

Cain looked to DG briefly and then back to the peace offering. He took it after a moment, and gave the horse an unsure nod.

Max's ears flicked forward and his head perked up. He swung is long face towards DG and she nodded in approval. He nickered and then walked over to the other horses, tail twitching happily.

Cain didn't know what to do first. He knew he was in pain but now thought he was quite possibly delusional.

"…'the _hell_ just happened?" he murmured to nobody in particular.

His eyes finally found DG's and she was looking quickly between him, Glitch, and Raw. She shrugged.

"What?" she asked, sounding defensive. "He knew what he did was mean…"

Cain could only blink at her. Glitch's head was twitching which was an indication that he was having one of his rare, silent misfires. Finally, Raw broke the silence.

"Must take out thorns."

This inevitably broke everyone from their train of thought and brought it to, well…Cain's ass.

"I can do it myself," Cain said quickly.

"Nonsense, some of those are in the back of your leg!" Glitch exclaimed. He started to lift the hem of Cain's coat. "Here, I'll just - "

"Whoa-ho-No!" Cain batted his hand away. He cleared his throat quickly, trying to recover from _that_ wave of panic. "No thanks, Zipperhead, I'll…I'll" His mind raced quickly, trying not to dwell on the fact that he had dozens of needle-like objects sticking into him at once. It wasn't entirely working. Maybe DG could think of some -

Raw suddenly left his side and patted DG on the shoulder.

"Good luck, DG," he muttered before walking away.

DG's eyes widened.

"What!"

Raw looked back, hiding his amusement.

"Cain doesn't want Raw to help either."

Before DG could respond again, Glitch had stepped in front of her and clapped his hands on either side of her shoulders. She looked at him, alarmed.

"You can do this," he said, his face perfectly serious.

DG's head twitched in an uncertain nod, but he had already released her and followed Raw over to the horses. The two of them led the four horses away and left Cain and DG alone.

"If I had my gun, I'd shoot them both," Cain muttered solemnly.

DG's eyes slid over to him, an eyebrow raised in question. His eyes flickered over to her and after analyzing her look he realized how Raw's comment must have sounded to her.

"I can get them myself…" he muttered, his hand brushing lightly over his leg, igniting a dozen or more pricks of pain.

She watched his motion and nodded slowly.

"Sure…" her tone drew his attention back to her. She had the hint of a knowing look on her face. "You probably should take your time being a human pin cushion…I'll just be…" She motioned behind her with a thumb, her damn smirk finally appearing.

His neutral face was now decidedly frowning.

Did she _have_ to phrase it like that?

He made an uncomfortable noise in the back of his throat. After a moment of looking anywhere but her, his head tilted towards her with his patented I-hate-this look.

When her smirk had faded into a patient, half smile, he nodded his head for her to follow him and he limped over to where he wanted to lie down.

"Is it just the one leg?" she asked.

"Thankfully…" he grumbled as he kneeled on his good leg, moving to lie down. After he got settled, he moved his coat out of the way and she began looking over his leg.

"Okay…" she said absentmindedly. She tugged on the fabric of his pants around one of the thorns lightly. "Hmmmm…"

That was a negative 'Hmmmm.' _Why_ does it have to be a negative 'Hmmmm'?

"Uhhh…I don't think…" she trailed off and he looked over her shoulder at him. She gave him an uneasy smile that didn't last all of half a second before she was looking uncomfortable again. And blushing. "You…mighthavetotakeoff…your…"

She stopped talking as she met his eyes. She heaved a big sigh and motioned at his lower half.

He looked down at his pants and studied the holes. They were barely the size of the thorns. There was no way she could pick them out with the fabric in the way.

Of. _Course_.

He felt his ears turn pink. He bit back a groan and started kicking off his boots. He had trouble since he couldn't use all of his leg muscles easily and she ended up pulling his boots off for him. Then she turned away and waited for him to divest himself of his pants.

Which was a long and awkward process in and of itself.

"So…" she said after a minute of him trying to depants himself. He looked up alarmed, but saw she was still facing away from him. "I see two options…"

He grunted. This ought to be good.

"Yeah, and what's that?"

"I can pick them out by hand or…" she motioned with her hand. "…magic…them out…"

He contemplated the back of her head. While he trusted her with many things…Like doing this in the first place…

"I'd rather you try it the old fashion way first…" he found himself answering.

She shrugged, and mumbled something that he couldn't quite catch, which he ignored. When he was finally finished, and he had himself covered with either his pants or coat, he gave her the all clear.

"Alright, let's get this over with."

When she turned around she looked everywhere but him. She made her way around behind him and knelt by his leg. He heard her take a deep breath to calm herself.

What the hell did she have to be nervous about? _She_ isn't the one hurt or pants-less!

And then her cool fingertips were on his thigh and his skin felt like it was electrified. His muscles clenched without thinking and pain lanced up from his leg at the movement.

"I…relax, Cain…Being tense isn't going to help anything."

And neither is brushing her right hand in a comforting motion on back of his knee, just below where the thorns started.

He fought the urge to blush and did his best to relax. He waited while she moved her right hand up and placed her fingertips around the first thorn. She tried to grab a hold of it between her thumb and index fingernails of her left hand while her other hand to put even pressure around the thorn, and held his skin back.

There were a few moments of discomfort until she finally got a good grip on it. Then she slowly pulled it out and Cain winced at the sensation. It hadn't necessarily hurt, but it was definitely not pleasant.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," he answered quickly, eager for this to be done.

She repeated the same process and methodically moved from right to left, moving higher and higher up his leg. He watched her progress over his shoulder, trying not to stare her down though. At one point she rested her right hand on his leg, almost bracing herself as she shifted over to continue working. Cain slightly shifted his leg away, alarmed at how close she –

"Sorry…" she muttered, and returned to the last few that were…umm…very high. Their eyes met briefly, and he managed to shake his head like it wasn't a big deal.

Holy hell that was close.

And while this was highly embarrassing because it was DG, there was also no WAY he'd be able to handle going through something like this with Glitch or Raw. Glitch would be trying to talk the whole time and Raw just…Raw just doesn't need any excuses to 'Feel' what he was feeling.

He was definitely the one doing the blushing today.

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A/N: This one OBVIOUSLY threatened to be very very very long…and I almost cut out a lot of the first half, but…but…but then I'd be cutting stuff out…Which I Don't…Do… *shifty eyes* And the length makes up for the long wait, right? :D


	4. Attacked by an Assailant

WARNING: Sooooooooooooooooooo, this is the chapter is decidedly not cheery and is where the story earns its rating. And not in the happy way. More in a… violent and swearing sort of way…

A/N: This chapter will leave you wanting to do nothing but hug these two…I know I am…Sorry for going from lighthearted to…well, you'll see…

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The fourth time Cain found himself in the care of DG, he was not about to argue with her.

Cain was out of breath, standing at the feet of the man he had finally knocked unconscious.

He took a moment to assure himself that the fight was actually over, he was still standing in DG's bathroom, and DG was –

He looked around wildly. Shit, where is she?

He went to call out to her, but could only grunt and try and swallow, catching his breath. He hobbled over to the doorway where he propped himself up with his forearm, still trying to recover his breath.

"Deeg?" he said with as much urgency as he could muster. He would never forgive himself if she-

She spun around the other door that led to her sitting room with a leg of an end table in her hands held like a bat. The same end table, he noted, that he had last seen her being thrown into as his own fight had tumbled into the next room.

"Where is he?" he asked, taking note of the blood on the end of her stick.

She gulped, wide eyed.

"I think I killed him…"

His breathing had been getting deeper, but it hitched slightly at that. His breath shuddered as he exhaled.

"Oh…" He looked to the floor, searching for something to say. He was relieved that he didn't have another one to take care of, but was upset she had to fight for herself. And kill for herself.

"You?" she asked, her voice barely hiding its quake. His eyes flickered to the corner of the bedroom she couldn't see and then looked over his shoulder at the man crumpled on the floor.

"They're not moving anytime soon…" As he spoke, his eyes brushed over the damage in the bathroom.

Cain re-watched this portion of the fight in his mind as he looked it over. The vanity was cracked, bits of mirror all over the counter and floor from when he was thrown against it. DG's toiletries were strewn all over the floor when Cain fought to right himself and the two of them exchanged blows. A towel rod was ripped from the wall by the assailant, but Cain was able to block his attacks for the most part.

The shower curtain was hanging on by two rings from where Cain kicked the man away and into the tub, knocking the back of his head against the tile. He had managed to scramble up slightly, but not before Cain grabbed DG's hair-dryer-machine and cracked him in the skull like he would with the butt of his gun. He had instantly collapsed to where he lay now, sprawled by the toilet, one leg still in the bathtub.

"Does it hurt?" DG's voice sounded small.

He looked back to her and noticed she had lowered her weapon and was staring at the side of his face. He brushed the back of his hand against it and was surprised to feels bits of the mirror fall away.

Uh oh…

He looked at his hand, only to find it smeared with blood. He tried to gauge how much pain he was in.

He'll live…

He glanced up at DG with a shrug and began to look her over for injuries. She seemed fine, just severely shaken. The bedroom between them however… It showed more signs of a struggle, or to be more specific, where Cain's struggle had also been. Three people had crashed into the room and only two had left. The third lay in the far corner, his own knife protruding from his gut.

Cain started to limp towards DG and the sitting room, where the fight had begun.

She watched him dazedly before realizing she should move out of the way, help him, or…something. She shifted slightly and watched his face as he rounded the corner. He looked quickly back to her, concerned.

"Where is he?" Another dose of adrenaline, or what he had left, tried to spring to life as he saw the room was empty. He didn't know if he could fight off another one.

She lifted her chin towards the balcony, where the assailants had come in.

"He went down a bit faster than he came up…"

He looked back at her, a bit surprised that she was almost making light of it. Then he took in her face, and the way she still couldn't find it in herself to move, and realized she had no idea how to cope with what just happened.

"Come on," he said, holding out a guiding hand behind her back and tilting his head towards the door leading to the hallway. "We need to get you out of here…notify the guards…"

Instead of moving to the hallway, DG wrapped her arms lightly around his middle and hugged him. Her face stayed pressed against his chest for a few moments and Cain wrapped his arm around her shoulders, unsure of what to do. His brow furrowed in concern.

"You're alright, DG…" he said quietly. "You did what you had to. You're safe."

"I wasn't worried about me," came her muffled response.

He tensed, a flurry of emotions bubbling up in him that he didn't know what to do with. He managed to pat her on the back and take a step back.

"Let's get cleaned up…" he murmured, guiding her to the door.

After notifying the guards, promising to ream them later for not being near enough to help, and assuring the small crew they had at the Central City Palace with them that they were in fact, going to live just fine thank you, they finally reached Cain's room.

As if under some unspoken agreement, DG was going to stay with him that night. There was no way she could go back to her room now. She disappeared into his bathroom to clean up and gather supplies to clean his wounds. He changed into sleep pants and sat down gingerly on his bed while she was gone.

Boy, was he sore.

He peeled off his shirt. 'Another one, ruined,' he thought sadly.

The door to the bathroom opened and he glanced up, his breath catching in his throat. DG had pulled her hair up in a low, messy bun, and was wearing nothing but the long button down shirt he had handed her earlier. Her bare legs screamed for attention and he had to force himself to keep his eyes elsewhere.

"Oh my god," she said slowly, sounding astonished.

He realized she was looking at his bare chest. He almost felt smug until he looked down and saw a large bruise on his two left lower ribs. Along with all of his scars.

"I'm fine," he said automatically.

"No you're not, Cain," she moved towards him. "You're…oh my god…" she was suddenly getting the whole picture of just how badly he was beaten up today.

He had bruises on his torso, cuts and bruises on his arms, and cuts on his face and ear where he didn't have a shirt to protect him from the mirror in her bathroom. She couldn't even see where that son of a bitch had nailed him in the leg with the towel rod.

"Just patch up the cuts, and then we can deal with the rest in the morning…"

She shook her head but set about cleaning him up. She seemed to function better with a task in mind. She cleaned the cuts and bandaged them one by one. The cuts on his arm just got some gauze and tape, her cold fingers ghosting gently over his skin.

He heard her sniff a few times as she worked, and every once in awhile her hand would leave her work and move up to her own face. She wouldn't let him see her cry, but it was hard to miss the tears in her eyes.

She wrapped a long, wide bandage around his torso, to help his bruised and possibly broken ribs. He lifted his arms and while he turned his face away when hers was inevitably brought closer in order to accomplish her task, he still felt her warm, shaky breath against his neck. His weary arms resisted the impulse to wrap around her and assure her that the two of them were okay and she will never have to kill ever again.

The injury on his head required some tweezers to get the last of the mirror and glass out of his wound. She cleaned it as painlessly for him as she could, adding a few strips she called butterfly stitches that helped hold the two sides of the cut together. Cain found himself staring at her but he couldn't help it. His gaze would always wander back to her and what she was doing.

The fact that she was standing inches from him in nothing but his shirt had nothing to do with it either.

When she had cut the pieces of tape for the bandages on his arms, she had placed them on her leg, just above her knee, while she placed the gauze where she wanted it. Cain tried very hard not to notice how her legs were not only on display for him, but they looked completely hairless and smooth too.

Cain fought to not fidget.

When she was finally done, she stepped back, shoulders slumping in exhaustion. Her eyes lingered on his forehead.

"You probably shouldn't sleep right after a head injury…"

He sighed. He wanted nothing more than to fall back into his bed and rest.

Well…almost nothing.

"So now what?" he asked, watching as she took the med kit back to the bathroom.

"I don't know…" she came back into the room, staring at the floor. "We stay up and talk for awhile?"

He followed her with his eyes as she walked passed him and to the far side of the bed, collapsing on it and staring up at the ceiling. He scooted over and lied down as well, hands on either side of him, mimicking her position.

"What do you want to talk about?" he asked after a long pause.

"Not about what just happened…" she answered after an equally long pause.

They lapsed into silence for a minute, contemplating the pattern on the ceiling.

It was beige with paisley shaped swirls.

"Do you think Toto chases cats?" he asked finally.

A moment's pause.

"I dunno," she replied, sounding regretful that she didn't.

Silence reigned over them again.

Cain was glad there weren't any windows in his room.

"Hey Cain?" she asked quietly, her tone somber.

"Yeah?"

"…I killed someone today…" she told him. She sounded numb. Unsure how she felt about it but sure that it did, in fact, happen.

He frowned at the ceiling. He knew telling her that she did the right thing was not what she wanted to hear right now.

"I know, sweetheart…"

One of her fingers brushed against his hand and he caught it with one of his for a moment. Then he linked their hands together, not letting go the rest of the night.

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A/N: I daresay the end is in sight... :(


	5. Pains of a Princess

A/N: School is such a muse killer!

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The fifth time DG took care of him was different.

Ever since the assassination attempt in DG's room, she had been more withdrawn. She stayed in one place all day, hardly venturing outdoors. Cain noticed she avoided windows at times as well.

He tried to get her to talk about what happened that day with someone. She would usually avoid the subject with him as well. He knew it was bothering her that she had to take a life, but he wasn't sure how to help.

And then she began to sleep less. She had bags under her eyes in the mornings and was always tired. Cain could tell she was suffering and finally decided to confront her about it. He went to her room after dinner, which she had skipped, again. He slipped inside when she didn't answer his knock, and saw her dozing on the couch in front of the fire.

Following the attack, her room had been moved, just down the hall from his, and had no windows, making the main feature in her sitting room the fireplace.

She was on the far end of the couch, her head in her hand, which was propped up by her elbow on the couch arm. She had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and her legs tucked underneath her. Her face looked strained even as she slept. Her brow was slightly furrowed and he could see a few lines on her face that made her look much older than she was.

He knelt on one knee in front of her, resting an arm on the couch as he reached up with his other hand to brush some hair out of her face.

Before he could even begin to whisper her name, her arm shot up and knocked his away, her entire body lurching backward. He caught her wrist as she swung it towards him thinking he was an attacker.

"Whoa –….I…" he began, but saw she was quickly realizing who was actually kneeling before her. "It's me…" he murmured. She stilled, despite her breathing hard and her widened eyes. "It's just me…"

"Jesus, Cain…" She raised her other hand to her chest, calming her breathing. He slowly lowered her other hand which he was still holding, and brought it down to her side. He slid his hand down her wrist and covered her hand with his. "Don't do that again…"

"I'm sorry. I…" he trailed off as he took in the pained expression on her face. She looked worn out and like she wanted nothing more than to have a good night's sleep. Of course, she would be feeling jumpy. How could he have been so stupid?

Her eyes fell to the floor beside him and he moved his other hand to her knee to bring her attention back to him.

A million thoughts raced through his head. He wanted to ask her if she was alright, which was stupid - of course she wasn't alright. _Will_ she be alright? Not anytime soon. Can I get you anything? Yeah, interrupt some of the few precious minutes of sleep she's gotten in the past two weeks for that. Do you want to talk about it? Of course not now. She never wants to talk about it _now_. But what in the world could he possibly say to get her to understand how her situation was making him feel? _Without_ compromising himself… He couldn't possibly express his irrational desire to kiss away her tears over this. He wasn't quite sure where that came from anyway.

"I'm worried about you."

There. Close enough. It's simple, honest, not a barrage of questions like most people gave her lately. She didn't _want_ to answer questions.

She seemed to deflate at his words.

And here he thought watching her slowly fall apart over the past few days was hard for him. The way she looked now made him want nothing more than to wrap her in his arms and never let go. Never let anything ever harm her again. He contented himself with rubbing his thumb across her knuckles of the hand he was holding.

"DG…I wish I could do something to stop your hurting…" Her eyes fell from his. "You're always taking care of me…" The corners of her mouth kicked up a wry smile. "…don't you think it's time someone took care of you?" She finally looked up at him, her eyes clouding with defeat.

"This isn't something you can just fix, Cain." He looked down at their joined hands. She doesn't understand. She doesn't understand how much it pains him to see her hurt. How he would do anything for her. How much he cared for her. "You can't kiss it, and make it better…"

Well, now _that_…

…is one hell of an idea.

"I don't have any physical injury," she continued, unaware of the direction of his thoughts. "I don't have cuts or bruises. There's no band-aid for this…You…"

She trailed off as he raised her hand to his lips.

When she didn't immediately pull her hand away, he kissed her fingertips, looking at the back of the couch over her shoulder. He heard her breath catch in her throat. When she still didn't protest and after a moment's hesitation, he kissed her palm. He pressed her fingers to his face to cup his jaw and let his eyes finally fall closed. She let out a shaky breath, and her body fought a shiver.

"You sure?" he whispered.

She watched as he opened his eyes. They slowly made their way up to her face. She blinked away a tear and tried to remember how to breathe. They stared at one another. Her face full of surprise and longing, his for once was fully showing his concern for her.

He may not be any good at medical stuff, but this…_this_ he can do. He can show her that no matter what happens, no matter what she has done in her life, there are people who can still love her.

_He_ can still…

…love.

The thought stuttered his thought process to a stop. He blinked at her, looking from one of her bright blue eyes to the other and back as the realization settled over him.

He raised the hand he had on her knee up to her face. It hung there as he uncertainly brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers. He took shallow breaths so that he could say something. But every time he went to form words they caught in his throat and he only leaned closer.

Soon their faces were near enough that they were glancing at each other's lips in anticipation. Cain finally gave up on trying to form words and moved to press his lips to hers.

Cain sighed and swerved at the last second as an untimely knock sounded on the door.

He swallowed hard and bowed his head slightly, eyes closed in defeat. DG, for her part, sighed as well. But as her eyes fluttered open she saw his look of disappointment and impulsively leaned forward, nuzzling her face against his.

He leaned into the contact for a moment, even as he had a hand searching for the couch to push himself up. His eyes opened and he stared at the curve of her neck. He wished he could stay here forever and finish what he started. Instead he merely kissed her cheek for a few precious seconds as he moved to stand.

He had come this far already, hadn't he?

He was already glaring at the door and taking a step towards it, letting her hand slip from his slowly when she tightened her hold on his fingertips at the last second. He blinked and looked back to her, his face nearly unreadable. She looked at him uncertainly, her face full of worries and questions. He felt the corners of his mouth quirk up. He got the feeling that they could have conversations for hours just by staring at each other.

"You'll be alright, Deeg…" he said with a slight nod. It was all he could say for now, knowing someone was waiting at the door.

She returned a hesitant smile and let her fingers fall from his. He only made it a few steps before she spoke again.

"What about you?"

He smirked in spite of himself. What about him?

"I seem to be doing alright so far…" His smirk became a smile as he looked at her over his shoulder. "With you taking care of me…"

TMTMTMTMTMTMTMTMTMTMTMTMTM

A/N: *hides face and wails* I'M SUCH A TEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE! I don't MEAN to be! It just happens! I'm sorely tempted to end it here because Cain had a clever sum-up-the-story line….but I suppose you all want me to add to this? Let's just call this the end. And anything after this will be an epilogue. Deal? ;)


End file.
